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History
The Venice Bible Church was founded in 1959, and has had a long rich history
of ministry in the Venice area. Visit the History
Photo Gallery.
1980 to 1990
In March of 1980 Pastor Krueger moved to Baltimore to
begin a new ministry with "Search Ministries". Pastor Paul Morrison
was called for a second time to serve as Interim Pastor from March of 1980 to
September of 1980. During that time we were all drawn closer to the Lord and to
one another and he modeled Jesus in his daily walk and provided countless hours
of Godly counseling for the flock.
In April of 1980 the church hired Dave Hosler to become
our Youth Pastor. Pastor Dave had been working with Doc Malwin in the Monday
Night Meetings for five years and had developed a good rapport with the youth of
the church. Dave and his wife, Tammy, opened their home to the youth of our
church and spent quality time interacting in the Word on a one-to-one basis.
Dave planned many stress-camping, hiking, and canoeing trips which were designed
to develop friendships, trusting relationships, and credibility. Many youth came
to Christ through his ministry. Pastor Dave also ministered in music as he sang
and played the guitar during the church services and Monday Night Meetings. His
in-depth messages were a challenge to our young people.
In September of 1980 Pastor Ron Schmidt was called from a
successful ministry of six years at Grace Baptist Church in Newfane, New York.
Ron was also a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. When he joined our
staff, he was already in full accord with our concepts of multiple leadership
and the one another concept of personal ministry between brothers and sisters.
He was also totally committed to the flock sharing during the worship service
and was already familiar with home Koinonia meetings. Pastor Ron was tailor-made
by God to meet our needs.
Pastor Ron faithfully pursued the challenge of discipling
those men and women raised up to serve God. He also encouraged enrollment in
Leadership Training Classes for men who have demonstrated an interest in taking
on responsibility at that level. His relaxed preaching style and use of handouts
and overhead projector really held the attention of the flock. His challenge was
to examine our hearts and make a life response to what God had taught us or was
urging us to do.
In April of 1982 we called Pastor George Johnson to be our
Associate Pastor. George, who received his training at Houghton College in New
York and Eastern Baptist Seminary in Philadelphia, had a background of
twenty-five years in the pastorate. When we called Pastor George, he was the
Executive Director of the Association of North American Missions. He had served
six years in that capacity. His responsibilities included oversight of church
administration, Christian Education, Missions, Keenager (age 50+) ministry, and
Koinonia ministry.
Under Pastor Ron’s leadership, God was pleased to permit
us to build our third building which became our new sanctuary and offices. We
also built a new kitchen and classrooms. Even in 1974 our available land and
congregational size made a new sanctuary possible, but priority had been given
to investing in the necessary pastoral and office staff. In 1982 the Building
Committee, under the leadership of Jack Hill, sat down with architects and
builders. Construction began in September of 1982 and was completed in June of
1983. Our first service was held in our new sanctuary on June 12, 1983.
In August of 1983 Pastor Phil Dunn was called from
Hershey, Pennsylvania to serve as our Youth Pastor and Minister of Music. His
involvement in the Monday Night Meetings, Sunday evening youth ministry and
other outings have had a positive impact on our youth. His musical training was
evident in the quality of music he selected for solos, choir, and congregational
singing.
James Leake was called as Administrative Pastor in April
of 1986. He threw his energy into administration of the personnel, finances, and
facilities of VBC, Young Adult Ministry, Small Group Ministries, Christian
Education, Newcomer Assimilation, and Leadership Training and Accountability.
In August of 1987 Jean Squeo became the Interim Music
Director. Her previous involvement in the music ministry helped to make this
transition a smooth one. Under her guidance the children’s, adult, and bell
choirs flourished. She was very creative, as was seen in events like the dinner
theaters and dramas.
Bob & Laura Crotts came to Venice Bible Church in June
1986 and immediately became involved in evangelistic ministry, having directed
evangelism and discipleship programs at two large churches in Memphis, TN and
St. Petersburg, FL. In April 1987 Bob Crotts joined the staff of VBC and became
an associate missionary with American Missionary Fellowship. His
responsibilities included evangelistic outreach, discipleship training, visitor
follow-up, and the Keenagers ministry.
Also in April 1987 Christine Hart became the Director of
Children’s Ministry, serving part-time those in the cradle through the fifth
grade. A graduate of Wheaton College, Christine has written many articles for
publication, curriculum for various publishing houses, and two tracts for the
American Tract Society.
Rich Hart, a member of VBC since 1976, became the Youth
Pastor in May 1988. Rich is a graduate of Word of Life Bible Institute and
Philadelphia College of the Bible with a bachelors degree in Bible and Youth
Ministry. His ministry at VBC included those in the sixth to the twelfth grades.
Two youth groups were formed: one for the middle school age youth (grades 6-8),
and one for the senior high youth (grades 9-12). An emphasis was placed on
developing the youth to effectively minister to their peers. Missions and
service projects were integrated into the overall program.
Jon Edwards was hired in July 1989 to serve as the tenth
Senior Pastor of Venice Bible Church. During his time in ministry he earned his
Doctorate of Divinity of Ministry from Denver Theological Seminary. Ralph and
Lou Sutera were brought from Canada for seventeen days of crusade meetings.
Missions was the heartbeat of Jon Edwards. During his seven year tenure the
Missions Ministry saw much growth.
Also in July of 1989, Bruce Ellsworth was called to be the
Music Pastor of VBC. Bruce graduated cum laude from Southeastern Bible College
in Birmingham, Alabama with a degree in church music and Bible and did his
post-graduate studies at Winthrop College. He started the Praise Band and
ensemble teams. Bruce brought an energy to the music ministry with drama and
musicals. He was also extremely skilled in computers and technology, bringing a
computer network system to the church and upgrading the whole computer system.
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